In South Australia, calls are increasing for urgent reform to laws that inhibit people with an intellectual disability from giving evidence in sexual abuse trials. Intellectually disabled people and people with communication disabilities are often viewed as not reliable witnesses in the adversarial court system because of difficulties in cross-examining their evidence.

Transcript

MARK COLVIN: The dropping of a case in South Australia has focused attention on the way courts treat people with intellectual disability in sexual abuse trials.

Today three counts of indecent assault and one count of assault were dropped against a 57-year-old bus driver who cannot be named. It's amplified calls for urgent reform to laws that inhibit intellectually disabled people from giving evidence.

At the moment they're often seen as unreliable witnesses in the adversarial court system because of difficulties in cross-examination. Many alleged abuse cases are dropped before making it to trial.

Nance Haxton reports.

NANCE HAXTON: The Christies Beach courtroom was filled to capacity today with parents waiting to hear what will happen to their children's cases.

A sea of pink t-shirts spilled out into the corridor. A 57-year-old bus driver, who can't be identified, was facing three charges of indecent assault and one of assault relating to two disabled children.

Those charges were dropped and replaced with new charges relating to different children; one count of sexual intercourse with a child under 14, and one count of gross indecency.

The mother of one of the children says she's devastated that her child's case will not proceed.

MOTHER: We want justice. The process must be made fairer for our children with disabilities. It needs to be easier for them to give evidence.

NANCE HAXTON: She says she feels let down by the South Australian justice system.

MOTHER: If you speak a different language you have an interpreter, if you're blind you have someone helping you with brail, if, you know, where is it for our children?

NANCE HAXTON: State Upper House Dignity for the Disabled MP Kelly Vincent was at court today and is outraged. She says it is an indictment on the court system that in this day and age people with a disability are often not allowed to give evidence and have their cases heard.

KELLY VINCENT: We need to train police to have specific units dedicated to people with communication disabilities or people with disabilities are going to make giving evidence very difficult.

NANCE HAXTON: Ms Vincent is lobbying for the laws to be changed. South Australia's Attorney-General John Rau is reviewing the Evidence Act, aimed at making it easier for severely disabled people to give evidence in court.

The parents of the children in this dropped case are seeking to meet with the Attorney-General as part of that review.

Child protection expert Freda Briggs says the time has come for urgent court reform otherwise disabled people will be targeted by criminals who know that their cases are unlikely to stand up in court.

FREDA BRIGGS: Well the main issues are that there is seldom a prosecution if the children are very young or the child has a disability because the criminal justice system is adversarial. It is not set up for children. It's set up for adults.

In the criminal court it is assumed that all parties are equal and children can never be equal to barristers, least of all if they have got a disability.

Now we've known this for a very long time. As long ago as 1995 NAPCAN, which is the national organisation for child protection, had a working party for a whole year, published a report recommending that all child sexual abuse cases be removed from the current criminal system and put into a separate court which would be inquisitorial along the lines of a coronial inquiry where all of the evidence could be investigated, not just the evidence that a judge chooses for the jury to know about. And that there should be people involved who have expertise in child development and child abuse.

NANCE HAXTON: Because it really is about getting that balance isn't it between enabling people with a disability or communication issues to give evidence but also respecting the rights of the accused?

FREDA BRIGGS: Absolutely and the rights of the accused have been taking precedence all the way.

NANCE HAXTON: And what happens if this isn't dealt with? Does that mean that this group becomes more vulnerable and more susceptible to abuse?

FREDA BRIGGS: Oh look these children are highly vulnerable. Years ago it as estimated that children with disabilities were 700 per cent more vulnerable than children who don't have disabilities.

NANCE HAXTON: To sexual abuse?

FREDA BRIGGS: Yeah and all forms of abuse and we've done absolutely nothing about it.